FCC to vote on a non-IP call authentication mandate

April 7, 2025

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on new rules at their next meeting that would mandate non-IP call authentication by service providers that continue to rely on non-IP networks. Let’s have a look.

Background

The TRACED Act required the FCC to adopt rules for voice service providers to perform call authentication using STIR/SHAKEN in their IP networks.

The act allowed the Commission to grant a delay of compliance for providers that rely on non-IP networks. Such providers were required to perform robocall mitigation and participate, either directly or through an association, in industry-led efforts to devise a non-IP call authentication framework.

Since then, industry representatives and standards bodies (ATIS, The SIP Forum) have developed standards to extend the STIR/SHAKEN framework to enable call authentication to be sent through or around non-IP barriers.

STIR/SHAKEN extensions

The following standards documents have been developed to extend STIR/SHAKEN to be used in non-IP call segment scenarios.

Standard	Name	FCC Terminology
ATIS-1000095	Extending STIR/SHAKEN over TDM	In-Band Authentication
ATIS-1000096	Out-of-Band PASSporT Transmission Involving TDM Networks	Out-of-Band Multiple STI-CPS Authentication
ATIS-1000105	Out-of-Band PASSporT Transmission Between Service Providers that Interconnect using TDM	Out-of-Band Agreed STI-CPS Authentication

ATIS 95 describes methods to insert call authentication information from a SHAKEN PASSporT into TDM ISUP Screening indicator.

ATIS 96 describes methods to publish and retrieve SHAKEN PASSporTs to and from a Call Placement Service (STI-CPS) network.

ATIS 105 describes methods for service providers that exchange calls over a non-IP network segment to publish and retrieve SHAKEN PASSporTs to and from a STI-CPS that they agree to use.

Proposed rules

In their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission states that they intend to rule that In-Band Authentication and Out-of-Band Multiple STI-CPS Authentication meet the TRACED Act criteria for non-IP call authentication.

The Commission also proposes to ask for comment as to whether Out-of-Band Agreed STI-CPS Authentication also meets the standard.

After the comment and reply comment periods have concluded and the record has been evaluated, the Commission proposes to mandate that providers that rely on non-IP networks either migrate to an IP network or use one of the non-IP STIR/SHAKEN methods.

Deadlines

The proposed rulemaking states that the deadline for service providers that rely on non-IP networks to either migrate to IP or implement non-IP STIR/SHAKEN extensions would be two years after the effective date of the order.

More information

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for STIR/SHAKEN, WC Docket No. 17-97.
April 2025 Open Commission Meeting Agenda, meeting to be held on April 28, 2025.

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